A U.S. carrying deadly materials from Syria’s chemical weapons program departed from Italy and now is in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea

The last cargo of Syrian chemical weapons, which was removed last week from the country under an international agreement, was transferred yesterday by the merchant ship Ark Futura, which sails under the Danish flag, to the U.S. ship Cape Ray.

The US vessel is equipped with a plant where the bulk of the chemicals can be neutralised by the process of hydrolysis. The transfer of the cargo was completed at the port Gioia Tauro in Calabria under the supervision of officials of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), the international body for the implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention.

According to the official announcement of the Pentagon, the Cape Ray departed the Italian port and now sails in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea, where it will remain for several weeks, in order to complete the neutralization process. Any remaining waste is expected to be processed in specially built facilities in Germany and Finland.